Toyota Prius Speeds Out of Control on SoCal FWY

A new perspective:
Car Driving Safety Statistics and Unintended Acceleration - Popular Mechanics

They also have a story about SUA and electronic throttle control systems.

 

"... but officer, my throttle was stuck," oldest excuse in the book. Even the most obtuse of traffic cops would never fall, for that one.

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble but... there ain't no runaway Toyota's. "ORAGE ALERT! ORANGE ALERT! TERROR! TERROR! This is something ABC's newsies cooked up, for our amusement and entertainment.

Keep us living, in a constant state of fear...

It's political. Twenty year thing. Something like this always comes up when domestic automakers get themselves in trouble. First time they did this, it was Preston Tucker (e.g., selective prosecution; if Tucker succeeded, likelihood loomed Chrysler would have failed). Remember, the last time the policy community pulled a runaway rev stunt like this, was to Audi, back in the late 1980s (e.g., Ronald Reagan's voluntary export restraint policy had just tanked).

About that time, Audi was the most innovative automaker. And, Ford was copying just about everything coming out of Audi's design studios (e.g., the Tauras/Sable platform). They've been copying them, ever since.

Circa the 21st Century, Toyota makes for a ripe, juicy target. Don't you think?

Something fishy about this guy on the I-8. That contemporary hydraulic brakes are 8 times more powerful, than the fastest racing mill you could buy, cold day in hell that old guy was lighting his brake lights red hot, 15 long miles, at 90 MPH? Stuck throttle explanation is unsatisfactory. The Prius tops out, about 107. Not 90. Stuck throttle, that old guy would have been going faster. People who drive these cars aren't stupid Camaro guys. We tend to be smart. Educated. Resourceful... perceptive. You going to tell me a Prius driver wouldn't have wherewithal, to slide the thing into neutral?

Five gets you ten they're not going to find one darned thing wrong with that car. I have a sneaky suspicion that old guy secretly decided to himself that day, "... I'm going to be a glory hog. I'm going to get back at my car dealership, for embarrassing me in front of everyone."

Next time RADAR acquires me, north 85 on my speedo, that is exactly what I'm going to say: "... Gee, whiz. Darnedest thing you ever did see, officer. The thing just took off." If I said that to you? I would not bank on you, believing me.

This whole thing... feeble attempt to drive traffic, from the Toyota showrooms back to GM and Ford. Won't work. Sitting in the catbird seat, buyers will migrate to Volkswagon, instead.


Regards,
- Samuel, '04

 

I can't speak for the GenIII. My 2006 doesn't know whether it is standing still or screaming down the freeway. If I hit the brake first, the throttle is still active. I am pretty sure there is no switch on my car for this.

 

Only Toyota can tell us what the safety margins designed into the brake system are.

As you hinted at in your last statement, these boundary tests tend to be somewhat destructive.

 

Ever since I was a kid (quite a while ago) I have made it a point to become familiar with the way my car behaves. And now I have hand controls, but I have done just as Shane described without any problem.

I believe that that drivers are both more confident and safer to others when they understand how their car responds, especially to emergencies.

 

Cool, so you've actually done this? Did the throttle cut or did the engine rev up because you hit the brakes first? That wasn't clear from your reply.

One good thing to come out of all this media frenzy, is that people are taking the time to find out more about how their cars work outside of normal operation. I don't even own a Prius currently, but I have learned a lot about how it functions (no steering lock, shifting into P or R while moving moves it to N, short hold to get into N, throttle override, etc...)

 

Here's an interesting read.

Did Bankrupt Runaway Prius Driver Fake "Unintended Acceleration?" - Toyota Recall - Jalopnik

 

Actually Shane, I did two things. When I brake first, like you did, the throttle is active and the engine DOES race. When I brake SECOND, the throttle is overcome. That is the way it is designed to work. That is so that we don't roll backward on a hill when we are stopped as at an intersection.

Pardon me for the confusion.

 

Thanks for clarifying. It behaves as expected.

Meanwhile, more evidence coming out that this James Sikes fellow is a scam. Regardless of how suspicious that 23-minute chase was, the thing that struck me the most was that first interview he did. His eyes were shifting all over the place as he described what happened...classic giveaway that somethin' just ain't right.

 

The CHP officer doesn't need to be in on it. It is quite easy to fake out the officer by pretending to stand on the brakes, making the brakes burn by riding them at high speeds etc..

Any San Diego-area CHP officer will be extremely inclined to believe Sikes' story since one of their fellow CHP officers from the same county died in that heavily publicized Lexus crash. Local residents and news media would also be especially ready to believe a story like this with the Lexus crash still fresh on their minds.

The odds of the situation just coincidentally occurring in the jurisdiction of San Diego CHP as opposed to any other part of the country are staggering.

 

Why is that? Isn't Sikes a resident of San Diego?

 

He should have said that the odds of the Lexus crash and this runaway being in the same county are low.

Tom

 

This whole story is bull. im not going to fall for the fear mongering media. its being blown way out of proportion. Now...... just about 2 hours ago they had on the news some woman in canton Ohio on the air clamming her 2006 toyota mini van something (not a prius! no even a recall!) SUDDENLY accelerated and she hit the wall of a wall-greens for no reason at all with "no way to stop".

omg people will do anything for attention or money.

 

more questionable King 5 (Seattle) area reporting

(Hopefully this hasn't been posted already)
Sigh... King 5 news (of Seattle) is still airing misleading segments on their 11 pm news. On the 3/12 11 o'clock news, they talked about the class action loss suit about loss of value, then refer to the San Diego incident.

Again, they the show the overhead shots of the blue Prius w/CHP cruiser in front of it and then it on a flatbed truck. They say "it took a highway patrol cruiser manuevering on front of the Prius to finally get the car to stop" w/an animation. The computer generated animation shows a CHP car doing just that but doesn't show any contact between the cars. Of course, they don't bother talking about Sikes' sketchy finances and possible motives nor that the say anything about the CHP car playing no role in actually physically stopping the car.

 

Man, has anyone actually got their Prius up to 95 MPH. It's all I can do to get up a hill on the way home without trucks fliping me the bird and yelling obscenities.

 

Jacumba, CA. Just inside San Diego County (next to Imperial County) and a few hundred feet from Mexico. Jim is trying to sell a 1 bedroom, 1 bath trailer there for $85K.

 

Oh come on...are you just being funny? Remarks like that just perpetuate the stereotype of the Prius being a low-powered buggy chugging along at 50mph max on the freeway. I never had a problem getting up a hill in my Gen II or Gen III.

Of course, with the unintended acceleration and inability to stop ... it now has a whole new image!

 

I think he was being funny- does Florida have hills? I have found a couple of places just west of Denver where the grades can slow me down a bit, especially if I try to floor it. But I've had worse cars...

 

Could you please substitute World for country and then calculate the odds.
Since the beginning of time (or at least since mobile phones were invented) there have I believe been two reported cases of 911 or equivalent calls from runaway Toyota Group cars.

San Diego 2 ---- Rest of the World 0 Zero Zilch.

I am amazed the matter is even being discussed.

All threads on this subject should be deleted as otherwise future Google searches from potential Prius owners will possibly return them as results and unjustifiably and sadly damage the Prius's reputation.

The Prius deserves better than that.

 

Florida? . . . has hills? I gotta go find a map.
Highest city at 500 feet? That's about 1,500 feet lower than Montana's lowest valley.



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